Facebook, NRDC and Opower Join with 16 Utilities to Drive Energy Efficiency Through Social Media

Social energy app to enable 20 million households to share, compare and compete in energy savings challenges

ARLINGTON, Va., MENLO PARK, Calif., and WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 3, 2012 –Facebook, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Opower today joined with 16 utilities to launch a social energy app at http://social.opower.com. With an initial reach of 20 million households, the effort is one of the most significant to date, enabling people to take action and become more energy efficient. Leveraging the Facebook platform, the app allows people to quickly and easily start benchmarking their home’s energy usage against similar homes, compare energy use with friends, enter energy-saving competitions, and share tips on how to become more energy efficient.

Starting today, anyone can use the app at http://social.opower.com by logging in with a Facebook account. Those customers within participating utilities’ territories, representing 20 million households, have the advantage of being able to directly connect with their utility account, making it easy to track their progress and share energy savings accomplishments with others.

According to NRDC, improvements in energy efficiency have the potential to deliver more than $700 billion in cost savings in the U.S. alone. Motivating consumers to take action—something that has traditionally been a challenge—is the key to unlocking this potential.

“The level of enthusiasm we’re seeing from people who are excited about getting better context about their energy use, and share—even brag—about their energy efficiency within their social networks is inspiring,” said Dan Yates, CEO and co-founder of Opower. “It demonstrates a shift within the industry for how people expect to interact with their utility. Having meaningful conversations with customers using social channels will soon become common in the utility industry.”

The application’s concept derives from extensive social science research on human behavior change and energy use. Dating back to NRDC’s Hood River Conservation Project in the 1980s—word-of-mouth proved to be an effective tool in encouraging people to use energy more efficiently. The application’s use of this kind of behavioral science combined with energy information, and Facebook’s global platform for connecting and sharing has the potential to create a dialogue and action about energy efficiency among hundreds of millions of people.

More than 20 million households within the 16 participating utilities’ territories will be able to take advantage of the app’s “Utility Connect” feature, allowing customers to choose to have their energy use automatically update each month. These utilities and energy providers include:

Austin Utilities (Minnesota)

Burbank Water & Power

ComEd

Connexus Energy

Consumers Energy

Direct Energy (coming soon in 2012)

Glendale Water & Power

Loveland Water and Power

National Grid (New York and Massachusetts)

New Jersey Natural Gas (coming in 2012)

Owatonna Public Utilities

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

City of Palo Alto Utilities

PPL Electric Utilities Corp.

Rochester Public Utilities

Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC

The social energy app is the latest offering from Opower, expanding the world’s most established consumer energy efficiency platform with a social layer integrated within utility websites under their own branding.

“Facebook was designed to enable people to connect, share and multiply their impact," said Marcy Scott Lynn, Facebook Sustainability. "This app is a powerful, easily accessible way for people on Facebook to do just that, inspiring conversations about really important topics – energy and the environment – that might not otherwise have taken place."

“If every household in the U.S. cut back on energy use by a mere 1%, that alone would cut more than $1.6 billion off of Americans’ annual energy bills. That’s the same as taking more than 1.2 million homes off-the-grid all together,” said Brandi Colander, NRDC Attorney, Energy and Transportation Group. NRDC’s partnership support includes subject matter expertise, partnership development and promotion. “This important tool will enhance energy literacy, making our daily energy choices more transparent and empowering people to make smarter, more economical decisions.”

Today’s beta launch is the first iteration of this app, which will expand with additional partners and functionality in the months to come.

About FacebookFounded in February 2004, Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a privately held company and is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif.

About NRDCThe Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org

About OpowerOpower is the leader in energy information software, providing the utility industry’s only cross-channel platform proven to drive energy efficiency gains on a large scale. Using cutting-edge behavioral science and patent-pending analytics, the Opower platform enables utilities to provide targeted energy data and advice to each customer. Sixty-five utilities—including 8 of the 10 largest in the US— partner with Opower to improve the effectiveness of their energy-efficiency portfolios and motivate their customers to become more energy efficient, while dramatically increasing the level of customer engagement and overall customer satisfaction. For utilities with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), the Opower platform represents a cost-effective way to convert hourly data into measurable energy savings, delivering a clear return on investment directly to customers. Founded in 2007 and privately held, Opower is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with additional offices in San Francisco, California, and London, England. For more information, please visit www.opower.com.